August home building fell 5 pct., slide continues | The Post and ...

WASHINGTON ? Builders broke ground on fewer homes in August, a reminder that the housing market remains depressed.

The Commerce Department says builders began work on a seasonally adjusted 571,000 homes last month, a 5 percent decline from July. That?s less than half the 1.2 million that economists say is consistent with healthy housing markets.

Single-family homes, roughly two-thirds of home construction, fell 1.4 percent. Apartment building plunged 12.4 percent. Building permits, a gauge of future construction, rose 3.2 percent.

Hurricane Irene also slowed construction in the Northeast.

While home construction represents a small portion of the housing market, it has an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and about $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Source: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/sep/20/august-home-building-fell-5-pct-slide-continues/

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